Carpet company has plans to cover Latham rug market

A new carpet retailer that abruptly pulled out of negotiations to lease 12,000 square feet of premier space in Latham says it still is committed to opening a second Capital Region outlet.

CarpetSmart, which opened a store in Crossgates Commons in Albany last month, is an arm of Shaw Industries Inc., the largest tufted carpet manufacturer in the world. Shaw is a major player is the carpet industry, with sales in fiscal 1995 of $2.9 billion.

"We are committed to opening a second store in the Latham area," said Charles Dilks, general manager of the CarpetSmart division of Shaw Industries. "We have not killed any deals in Latham and are still negotiating in the Latham area. When we find the right site, that meets all our criteria, we will open a store."

Dilks declined to give a time frame for the second store.

Sources close to the negotiations in Latham, which were focused along Route 2, said lease papers were ready to be signed when CarpetSmart decided against the deal, citing a desire to find cheaper space.

In December 1995, Shaw announced plans to open a chain of retail stores to sell its carpet directly to consumers. The move to retailing was aimed at making money by cutting out the middleman and having more control over the quality of installation. Since then, the company has embarked on an aggressive program of opening new stores and buying competitors.

Shaw Industries began its foray into the Capital Region by opening Shaw Contract Flooring Services on Interstate Avenue in Albany in July. The store works with architects and designers, and supplies and installs floor covering to institutions and major end users, such as schools and banks.

The retail store, CarpetSmart, posted sales in the three-week period from opening that surpassed expectations, said Julius Shaw, vice president of corporate communication for Shaw Industries in Dalton, Ga.

As part of its New York expansion, two CarpetSmart stores were opened in Buffalo earlier this year. Two new locations are slated to open in Rochester in January, and the company is looking at sites in Syracuse.

CarpetSmart's Dilks said the division's entry into the retail market had been well thought out, with demographic parameters being the chief consideration in the selection and purchase of sites.

Shaw Industries makes some 2,500 styles of carpets and rugs for residential and commercial use under such brand names as Abdingdon, Cabin Crafts, Crossley, Minister and Terza. The company holds more than one-third of the U.S. residential market.

Shaw Industries plans to open 30 CarpetSmart stores in the next 30 months and an additional 100 stores under the name Shaw Carpet Showplace by the end of 1997.